Anderlecht

Anderlecht is a commune that plays a dominant role in the Region’s economic life.

One of the country’s oldest farming centres, Anderlecht was urbanised as the Brussels agglomeration spread out, playing a dominant role in the Region’s economic life.

Territory

The commune of Anderlecht covers 17.7 square kilometres. It is located in the south-west of the Brussels agglomeration, bordering the City of Brussels, Dilbeek, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and Saint-Gilles.

Back in the 10th century Anderlecht was a village surrounded by the hamlets of Cureghem, Aa and Neerpede. Nowadays it is an integral part of the urban fabric, with shopping streets, abattoirs and an industrial zone, as well as various hotel and horticultural colleges.

Anderlecht is still a green commune, though. To build unbroken promenades through the territory the communal administration has given each neighbourhood its own green boltholes. These include a host of parks – Astrid, Crickx, Forestier, Scherdemael, Joseph Lemaire, J. Vives, Pede, Etangs – and the garden of the Erasmus House.

In the historical centre, which has retained its medieval feel, the presence of the house of the famous humanist Erasmus, who lived there in 1521, and the Béguinages – a set of 16th century houses – offer a charming window on the past. Along Chaussée de Mons, a series of industrial and workers’ neighbourhoods connect the centre of Anderlecht with Cureghem, before stretching beyond, most notably into the workers’ housing estate of La Roue, which dates from the beginning of the 20th century.